@magon that Bruckner must have been amazing! From what I also understand, having small/narrow ear canals can create amplification issues. When I was little, certain sounds were really loud and they say this is consistent with small canals and then later causes issues. The canals can also start to collapse with age too. I don't know, food for thought if perhaps you have narrow canals
a resonance in my left ear
(This is a general question but I'm posting here because DACs affect the problem. That might be some clue. I also posted in "Tech Talk" but not sure if I'll get any response.)
I have a "resonance" in my left ear. At certain frequencies the sound will get a lot louder, very similar to a high-Q resonance. It's especially obvious on piano notes.
I can demonstrate to myself it's my left ear and not my equipment in two ways.
- Put on headphones, listen to the same signal in each ear. Right ear sounds great, left ear has a screeching resonance on certain music.
- Listen to speakers, plug one ear at a time with earplugs.
One clue is that I have tinnitus in my left ear. It varies in intensity and the resonance is definitely worse when the tinnitus is worse. However I can't tell if the resonance is at the same frequency as the tinnitus, which is very high pitched, while piano notes around 500 Hz typically stimulate the resonance the worst. I've even put a parametric filter on the music to demonstrate a notch at roughly 500 Hz silences the resonance.
I've been evaluated by an ear doctor. My hearing is within the normal range. He didn't really even seem to understand my description of the resonance and said there was no test that could be performed. I asked for a brain MRI and they did that, but it was normal.
The resonance is pretty much intolerable as a listening experience for the music and equipment that triggers it strongly. I can tolerate it if the equipment and music doesn't stimulate it too much.
Here's the weird thing. Different DACs will stimulate the resonance to different degrees. For instance the Terminator 1 barely stimulates the resonance, while it goes completely nuts on the Gustard A26 and even more so on the Gustard X20 Pro. The iFi iDSD doesn't stimulate it at all and the Gustard R26 only slightly.
Also the digital front end affects the resonance. When I used a NUC computer as a PC-based system, the resonance was bad on the x20Pro but tolerable. When I switched to an Aurender N100 the overall sound quality improved hugely on the kind of music that doesn't hit the resonance, but the resonance got twice as bad on certain music like piano.
Wondering if anyone might have any theories.
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@symphonicsoul Yeah I had a good seat for the Bruckner - slightly back and elevated a little bit (the so-called Terrace at Walt Disney Concert Hall) - actually I bought a fairly cheap ticket and ended up near the side and back of the terrace where the sound is not so good - then a couple came up and said they wanted to trade seats with us because they wanted to sit by the door - so my girlfriend and I got this good seat in the center-front Terrance. LA Phil brass is glorious. And LOUD. I love how Bruckner uses brass. Dvorak, a wonderful composer, but he buries the brass under the strings a lot of the time. By the way I played trombone in college. Thanks for tip on small ear canals. Judging by the fit of IEMs that work with me, I do have small ear canals. I'm going to go back to this ENT or maybe find another one and consult on all this stuff. I have an HMO so I'm not sure I can see a different ENT. He was so dismissive of my concerns and really didn't even seem to understand them. Now all these people tell me there are possible explanations.
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@magon it's the worst when doctors are dismissive. Interesting that you have small ear canals and thinking that could be in play. You mentioned the Aurender N100h as not aggravating the issue. I just bought the N150 and got a headache after listening, which went away after I stopped. It's so darn bright and when it hits those frequencies that are bothering me, it's borderline painful. Especially with piano and sax and I know you're having issues with piano notes as well. The sounds stage and separation among instruments is stellar and I'm bummed. Wondering if I should return it and try the N100h instead. Going to try different cables first. Glad to hear you're a trombonist. I was a horn player and went to Northwestern during the height of the incredible Chicago brass. Was an amazing time to be there. Nothing like hearing Bruckner live. |
@symphonicsoul Did I say the Aurender N100 DIDN'T aggravate the issue? It is worse with the resonance compared with what I had before, a NUC PC-based system. A very modest PC-based system. So the N100 was amazing in terms of dynamics and resolution... a clear step up... (I'm not sure about soundstaging, I use mainly headphones and have an acoustically compromised modest speaker system) but also made the ear resonance worse. I want to keep it, though for its strengths. I think the issue is more the DAC, because even with the N100, DACs vary in the amount of the resonance they have and some have none. I tried a Terminator this year and it had no resonance. (I thought it was too aggressive on leading edges, though, and returned it). The Gustard X20 Pro, the DAC I had at the time I got the Aurender, seems to be the worst of any I tried. I've since sold it and now I'm testing out the Gustard A26. It's okay, a tolerable amount of resonance, and a great DAC. Better than the x20 Pro. I also am holding out hope that I can solve the resonance. So I'm willing to take a little risk with a little resonance. I wasn't a talented musician at the time. Since then I've gotten interested in composing and piano improvisation. I'm still working on those things (fairly beginning at improvisation in classical styles) but these new interests have reconnected me with music at a much deeper level. |
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